Kaede's Prayer
by Kanna37
Summary: Is Inuyasha's promise to Kikyou worth Kagome's life? Kaede doesn't think so, now, if only the kami will answer her prayer, and make Inuyasha realize this, before it's too late. Rated for hanyou mouth.


**Kaede's Prayer**

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

---cCc---

"Tell me, Inuyasha... are ye still planning to go to hell with my sister?"

That question caught him completely off-guard, causing him to slide sideways off the fence railing that he had been perched on.

It was completely unexpected.

Sure, he knew it was hanging over his head. He'd given his word that he would, but he didn't like to think about it - especially anymore. Just when it seemed he had a reason to live, he had to die.

But... once again, he'd given his word - and his word was all he had.

That was for after Naraku was dead and gone, though - right now, he had another responsibility. Gathering the shards, and protecting Kagome.

With all that in mind, the reluctant hanyou got back up from the ground, and folded his hands in his sleeves.

"Dunno what the hell brought that up, old hag, but... yeah." He looked away from her, guiltily, in the direction of the well, and Kagome. "I said I would, so I will. Not like I wanna, but..."

Kaede nodded, not surprised. He was honorable - though foolish at times. He was not going to try to save himself from the evil fate that her once-sister was going to try to force on him - she could only pray to the kami that something would happen to save him that fate.

He did not deserve it - and neither did Kagome.

---cCc---

_That's it! That damn wench is taking way too freakin' long! I'm gonna go get her, and she'd better be ready to go._

"Feh! Stupid wench... I'm going to get her, Miroku, she's late." Inuyasha hopped up, all red and silver impatience, and Miroku frowned at him, annoyed.

"Kagome is capable of coming back on her own, Inuyasha. Leave her be."

"Are you crazy?! That woman can't take care of herself - that's why she needs me to protect her!" he yelled, irate. _She wouldn't make it without me!_

"And why do you bother, anyway, Inuyasha? So, you protect her now... but what happens when you leave to go with Kikyou to hell? She won't have you to depend on anymore, so letting her lean on you now is really just cruel. She needs to learn to stand or fall on her own."

Inuyasha reared back, totally shocked. No one had ever said such a thing to him, let alone in that tone of voice. Miroku was serious - and he was angry.

"So what'r'ya sayin', monk? That I should just leave her to make it alone?!" he shouted. "What kind of friend are you?!"

_The kind that hopes you pay attention, and really think this through - for both you and Kagome's sakes, _Miroku thought, with a deep sigh.

Inuyasha turned and leapt away before another word could be said, needing to get far, far away from the monk at that point, or he'd end up doing something he'd regret - like killing him.

_How dare he say such a thing! Like I'd leave Kagome to bumble around this era defenseless - she wouldn't last five minutes! Bastard!_

Without even thinking, the very upset hanyou headed right for the well, hopping over the edge and disappearing into the blue lights of time.

_When it's time for me to go with Kikyou, I'll send her through the well, and seal it. That way, she'll be on her side of time, in her era, and safe._

His thoughts saddened, then - he hated thinking about leaving her. But he'd given his word, and unless there was an overwhelming need for him to break it, he wouldn't.

He couldn't.

Climbing slowly from the well, he sighed, and made his way out of the mini-shrine, headed for the house. Hopping easily onto the roof, he made straight for Kagome's window, determined to sit in her room and wait for her to show up.

At least this way, he could be alone with his now morose thoughts.

---cCc---

It was several hours later that Inuyasha finally caught Kagome's scent, heading for the house along with the rest of her family. Impatient, and annoyed with having sat thinking on the monk's words for all those hours, he jumped up and sped down the stairs to meet the family as they entered the house...

And stopped in utter shock at what met his eyes.

Kagome was being supported by her mother on one side, and her grandfather on the other, and she looked worse than she ever had after any battle with demons on his side of the well.

Unable to stop, his eyes ran over her form, taking in every injury as his blood boiled higher and higher.

Her face was gouged, bruised, and pained, and it was beyond obvious that the bruising present on her face, was more than carried over on her body. She limped, looking as though she could barely stand, and enraged, he swept in and grabbed her from her mother and grandfather, picking her up with a gentleness few would have suspected him capable of.

"Inu-ya-sha," she managed to croak out, making him aware that her throat, too, was injured. "What...?"

"Just be quiet, Kagome, and let me take you to your room." He looked up with pinked eyes at her mother, who nodded, and followed the hanyou as he turned to go up the stairs.

Once he got her into her room, and seated on her bed, he looked up at her mother, and she shook her head. "Let me get her washed down and comfortable, Inuyasha, and then we can talk," she said softly.

Glancing down at the almost unconscious young woman in his arms, the hanyou placed her gently flat on her bed, nodded shortly, and left the room.

He went downstairs and waited in the kitchen, avoiding her brother and grandfather like the plague - if he were pushed even a little at this point, it wouldn't be a good thing, and those two had a tendency to push his buttons every time he came around.

_What the fuck happened to her? This world of hers is supposed to be safe! Fuck!_

He clenched his hands so hard he drew blood, in his anger, he didn't even notice it, until Kagome's mother came into the room and tutted softly at the garish red splashes on her kitchen floor.

Wetting a towel, she came over and pried his hands open, then proceeded to wipe them clean gently, humming comfortingly to him all the while.

Once he'd calmed, and the blood had stopped, she guided him to a chair, and sat him down. Taking the seat opposite, she looked at him for a moment, and then her shoulders slumped a little as the afternoon's traumatic events caught up with her.

Inuyasha wasted no time, unclenching his jaw, he asked, "What the hell happened to her?"

That was when her mother broke down and started crying.

It wasn't sobs, more like silent weeping, and it hit something inside the hanyou - hard. He'd never seen this woman look so torn; she'd always been so strong.

After a few moments, she took a shuddering inhale of breath, and started talking.

As he listened, he began to think he was_ already _in hell.

It seemed that, after her school had finished for the day, Kagome had stayed behind to work on making up a test that she had missed. After she was finished, she had started home, only to come upon one of her smaller schoolmates being attacked by a group of males - they were trying to rape the girl.

Kagome, being Kagome, stayed to help her try to fight them off, no matter that neither one stood a chance to do so.

Fortunately, their screams as they'd fought had finally attracted attention, the gang of males had been driven off, and the girls rescued. By that time, though, they'd been thoroughly beaten.

Kagome had taken the brunt of it, and was bruised and battered, with heavily bruised ribs and even some torn muscles. She would be down for some time, recovering.

Inuyasha sat silently, listening to the whole thing, and trying desperately to calm his rage - even Tessaiga was struggling to contain his youkai blood.

This was something he'd never anticipated.

He'd always thought she was safe in her world - something like this happening had never crossed his mind, and suddenly, he had a whole lot to think about.

He had sworn to protect Kagome... and that was something he'd always done without even thinking about it. He _liked_ protecting Kagome. But when it came to following Kikyou to hell, he'd been sure that Kagome would be safe - especially at home in her time.

Obviously, that was not the case.

Without a word, he stood, and patting her mother awkwardly on the back for a moment, he headed for Kagome's room. He needed to _see_ her, needed to reassure himself that she was still alive and that she would be okay.

The moment he hit her room, he folded himself into a ball at the foot of her bed, and stared at her.

It was hard to do... every mark on her hurt him, knowing that she'd been harmed - and he hadn't been there to save her.

_Keh... it was only by chance - luck - that she was saved at all. If those people hadn't come along, she'd have been..._

It was too horrible to even contemplate - he couldn't bring himself to finish that thought.

And that was when something inside _him _broke, and tears flooded his eyes. At this point, hating to show tears as a weakness or not, they were actually welcome - they made it so he couldn't see_ her_, and all the injuries she'd sustained.

_I... I can't leave her. What do I do? I promised Kikyou... but... she doesn't need me to protect her. She just wants to go to hell. But if I leave Kagome... there won't be anyone to take care of her._

In that silent room, as he sat and waited for her to wake up again so that he could make sure she was truly going to be okay, he finally opened up, and admitted what he wanted, at least to himself.

Scooting up onto her bed, he took her into his arms, curled her against his chest - and cried.

He cried for what had happened to her, and he cried for what he'd been about to do to her, by going with Kikyou, and leaving her alone. And he finally, _finally_ made a choice...

The_ right _choice.

He chose to stay alive, and spend his life protecting the most precious thing in it. There was guilt, sure, about breaking his promise to Kikyou, but not enough of it to make him change his mind, because the bottom line was that, while he might think his promise to Kikyou was worth _his_ life, it _wasn't _worth Kagome's.

_Nothing _was.

When he finally went back through the well to tell everyone what had happened to Kagome, and why they wouldn't be going anywhere for a while, Miroku's words went through his mind, and he informed the group bluntly that he would not be following Kikyou to hell when things were over, because he had someone to protect.

He never did understand Kaede's mysterious smile that day... not until many years later, when the old miko finally passed, and he opened a certain letter she'd left for him.

_I know ye have little to your name besides your honor, Inuyasha - but honor is not more important than life. Especially not someone else's. Even at that, for honor's sake, ye should have always stayed with Kagome - for ye promised to protect her, _before_ ye promised to go to hell with Kikyou._

_That is why I made a special prayer to the kami, to find a way to influence ye to uphold that promise... and they did. _

_No matter if ye become angry with me for this, Inuyasha, I do not regret it, nor will I ever. That ye lived, and Kagome will always have ye to protect her, is enough for me._

He read that letter several times that day, but he never could make up his mind.

Did the kami answer the old baba's prayers, and cause what happened with Kagome, so that he would re-think his priorities?

After a while, he decided it didn't really matter.

And somewhere far away, yet not, a former miko smiled once again, knowing that he was right.

---cCc---

A/N: And done. This idea came to me last night - what would Inuyasha's reaction be if this little coil was placed before him? Go to hell with Kikyou, and leave Kagome defenseless? Somehow, I don't think he could live with himself if he left Kagome, and she ended up joining him in hell because he wasn't there to watch over her.

Amber


End file.
